Our Offices are located directly opposite the front of Charing Cross train station at:
Electronic “E-Apostille” & E-Legalisation Services
Electronic Notarisation & E-Notarisation Services
Notary Public.London offer a full range of electronic notarisation services — also known as “remote notarisation” and “digital notarisation” — as well as E-Apostille.
Please contact us for E-Apostille by email at e-apostille@notarypublic.london if you have an enquiry regarding any of the following:
- Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) by a Notary Public
- Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) by a Notary Public
- Electronic Apostille (E-Apostille) — issued by the Legalisation Office of the FCDO
We are fully equipped to provide an online service for your documents to be electronically certified and electronically signed by a United Kingdom notary using either a Notary Public Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) or a Notary Public Qualified Electronic Signature (QES).
Documents we certify electronically satisfy the requirements of the FCDO Legalisation Office to receive an Electronic Apostille.
We supply the required protected form of digital notarisations for use overseas, through DocuSign, using the eIDAS Regulation standard digital notarisations.
Electronic notarisation is an alternative to the traditional form of paper attestation on physical paper documents that are provided by way of “wet-ink” signature.
DocuSign — Secure Digital Signatures
DocuSign is our provider for protected digital signatures, as the forms offered by DocuSign generally comply with the regulatory standards of any country in the world.
DocuSign have a protected and secure “eSignature Platform” that support all levels of digital signatures including the forms specifically required for E-Apostille:
- Notary Public Advanced Electronic Signatures (AES)
- Notary Public Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES)
Once an electronic notary seal is added to a digital document, no party can amend or change the original digitally produced document. The digital document is protected and secure.
In this respect, an electronic notary seal and notary stamp, created using AES or QES, provides the same level of security as traditional paper form of notarised documents.
During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, Remote Online Notarisation became more commonplace in the notary practice.
Post COVID-19, the Legalisation Office of the FCDO ensured that E-Apostille became available to consumers in the United Kingdom for the very first time.
Following from this, special forms of protected and secure digital signatures, made by the United Kingdom registered Notary Public, became permitted and available for the first time.
Documents Eligible for E-Notarisation & E-Apostille
It is possible and permissible to E-Notarise and/or obtain an E-Apostille for many forms of documents, provided the electronic form is accepted by the overseas party. Types of documents may include:
- Power of Attorney (where the receiving jurisdiction allows electronic signing)
- United Kingdom Companies House papers certified by a Notary Public
- HM Revenue and Customs papers certified by a Notary Public
- Medical certificates certified by a Notary Public
- Documents issued by a UK Court or Tribunal certified by a Notary Public
- Contracts between different parties certified by a Notary Public
Please note: Electronic forms of legal documents is still a developing area of the law and not all documents can be signed or certified electronically.
Important — Before You Proceed
In many cases electronic notarisation or E-Notarisation will get rejected when your paper is submitted overseas — the party you are submitting your digital papers to may reject the electronic form and instead require a physical paper document.
Please note the following before enquiring about our digital notarisations and E-Apostille services:
- Check the electronic form of notarisation with a digital signature and E-Apostille will actually be accepted by the overseas recipient
- It is much cheaper to establish with certainty whether the digital form will be accepted before you embark on the electronic service
- Where possible, obtain written confirmation that electronic notarisation and E-Apostille will be accepted
Questions you should ask the overseas recipient:
- Will digital documents with E-Apostille certificates be accepted and approved?
- Is a separate E-Apostille for each document required?
- Will documents electronically signed by a UK notary be accepted?
- Is the actual requirement for a physical paper document instead?
Terms and Conditions: We will not issue refunds if ultimately a paper Apostille or paper notarisation with a wet ink signature is required and your digital notarisation is rejected. The obligation to check that E-Notarisation and/or E-Apostille will be accepted overseas rests entirely with the individual requesting the service.
Whilst we are likely to “informally discuss” this issue with you and warn you, our Retainer ultimately specifically excludes liability to advise if an electronic form of notarisation is acceptable. We have no liability to offer advice as to whether or not your papers will be accepted or rejected in digital electronic form.
Documents NOT Eligible for E-Apostille
The Legalisation Office of the FCDO specifically exclude the following documents from receiving an E-Apostille (these can only be Apostilled in paper form):
- General Register Office (GRO) documents — Birth, Death, Marriage, Civil Partnership & Adoption Certificates
- ACRO police certificates
- Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) certificates
- Disclosure certificates for Scotland or Northern Ireland
- Fingerprint certificates
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) membership certificates
Need E-Apostille or Electronic Notarisation?
Contact us at e-apostille@notarypublic.london
